Monthly Archives: March 2012

Revisiting Sri Lanka’s Bloody War

Even as attention is riveted on the bloodshed in Syria, another conflict, far more deadly, is belatedly attracting the notice it deserves.
Beginning this week, the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva has returned to an issue that has haunted it since 2009 — the bloody finish to Sri Lanka’s civil war. That conflict ended on […]

By MARZUKI DARUSMAN, STEVEN RATNER and YASMIN SOOKA | Published on March 12, 2012 at 10:38 am

Children of the 1977 Free Market Economy and their world without vision

“Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps, down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision” – Ayn Rand, Russian-American Novelist
Queueing for bread
Forgotten are the days when people waited in line for two to three hours to buy a loaf of bread; forgotten are the days when rice was not available […]

By Vishnuguptha | Published on March 12, 2012 at 10:29 am

Of Confidence Tricksters and Ponzi Schemes

Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow–Aesop-Fables, Deception
Duped
Recently a rich old lady residing in Colombo 7 had been duped by a con woman who pretended to be a rich owner of a business dealing in garment exports. The lady met this woman at the Hotel Hilton and soon developed a friendship. […]

By Lakshman Indranath Keerthisinghe | Published on March 11, 2012 at 2:38 pm

why is Sri Lanka opposing US-sponsored resolution to implement its own LLRC recommendations?

“Unlike the last occasion, however, this time around the sponsor of the resolution is no less than the United States, which is the world’s dominant political and economic power. This time the resolution that is proposed will also be harder to overcome. The indications are that the resolution will call on the Sri Lankan government […]

By Dr. Jehan Perera | Published on March 11, 2012 at 12:32 pm

US moves UN against Lanka

Ignoring strong objections from Sri Lanka and India, the United States on Wednesday (March 7) moved a resolution at the 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, in which it asked the Lankan
government to accept the “assistance” of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to implement the recommendations of the […]

By PK Balachandran | Published on March 9, 2012 at 12:32 pm

Women from the North And East call for real peace, justice and accountability

The end of the brutal 30 year old war brought with it a hope of reconciliation, peace, development and equality for all. However in the last three years the Sri Lankan State’s lack of commitment to these basic principles have left
women in the North and East in a vulnerable position. The lack of livelihood, safety […]

By North East Women’s Network | Published on March 8, 2012 at 2:16 am

Draft Resolution: Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka (3/6/12)

DRAFT RESOLUTION on SRI LANKA at the UNHRC 19th Sessions
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights, and other relevant instruments,
Reaffirming that States must ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism complies with their obligations under international law, in particular international human […]

By | Published on March 6, 2012 at 2:43 am

We are not only defending Sri Lanka but the collective interest of all developing countries – Tamara

Tamara Kunanayakam, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva gave an interview to a website last week attempting to explain the motivations of the West and mostly the United States for pushing a
resolution against Sri Lanka
Given below are excerpts of the interview with Ambassador Tamara Kunanayakam.
Question: What is the current situation in the Human […]

By | Published on March 6, 2012 at 2:27 am

Sri Lanka against itself

Sri Lanka is engaged in an all-out effort to stave off a resolution against it at the ongoing session of the United Nations Human Rights Council at Geneva. The United States, the prime backer of the resolution, has circulated a

draft among the Council’s 47 members calling on Colombo to do nothing more than implement the […]

By | Published on March 5, 2012 at 2:10 am

Twelve Questions for Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe

Sri Lankan Human Rights Defenders Network have heard with great interest the speech made by Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe at the UN Human Rights Council on February 27. We are concerned about the silences and
misrepresentations that we have found there.
We give below our list of Twelve Questions for Minister Samarasinghe and others in his delegation.
We urge […]

By Sri Lankan Human Rights Defenders Network | Published on March 4, 2012 at 2:01 am